Blackberry Mobility Featured Article

Report: More Teens Going Mobile, Texting to Stay in Touch

Communications trends among teenagers today grow and change constantly as new, more convenient ways to keep in touch are introduced.

According to an article in the New York Times, sending text messages from cell phones has now shot past the once popular instant messaging from computers, as a way for teens to communicate.

Citing a study conducted by market research company Mediamark Research and Intelligence “MRI,” the NYT article notes that IMing was a “widely commercialized” communications medium among teens in the 1990’s and up until 2007 – when it “still had 26 percent more frequent users.”

In 2008, texting from a mobile phone rose in popularity and before winning over teens, tied with IMing as a top way to communicate.

These findings are related to the push for mobility today as more and more users are looking to keep in touch even while “on-the-go.”

Not only are teens jumping on the mobile bandwagon, but younger kids are not far behind.

Another recent MRI study, “American Kids Study,” found that cell phone ownership among children has increased 68 percent in the past five years.

In 2005, only 11.9 percent of children aged 6-11 owned a cell phone - which has now grown to include 20 percent of U.S. children.

Stefania Viscusi is an assignment editor for TMCnet, covering voice and Voice over IP technologies. She also oversees production of TMCnet's e-Newsletters in the areas of Internet telephony and speech technology. To read more of Stefania's articles, please visit her columnist page.